Confirmed: Jericho the lion lives

Infamous bus kidnapper paroled

Nearly 40 years after receiving a life sentence for his role in the largest mass abduction in U.S. history, James Schoenfeld -- one of the three infamous Chowchilla school bus kidnappers -- will walk out of a California prison this week a free man.

Bin Laden plane crash 'doesn?t make sense'

Photo of the day: Top images from around the world

Forget what you heard, folks, Jericho, friend of Cecil the lion, is alive

Great news, everyone! Jericho, the alleged brother of Cecil the lion who authorities hoped would protect the slain lion?s cubs, is not dead.Not only is he not dead, but he is very much alive and last seen devouring a giraffe carcass with a lioness from his pride, according to witnesses.Read full article >>

Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), a Republican presidential candidate, called on Congress to pull federal funding for Planned Parenthood, saying the money should go to community health centers instead.Paul has introduced a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. The nonprofit has been mired in controversy in recent weeks over videos purporting to expose its allegedly illegal and unethical fetal tissue donation practices.Read full article >>

Forget what you heard, folks, Jericho, friend of Cecil the lion, is alive

Great news, everyone! Jericho, the alleged brother of Cecil the lion who authorities hoped would protect the slain lion?s cubs, is not dead.Not only is he not dead, but he is very much alive and last seen devouring a giraffe carcass with a lioness from his pride, according to witnesses.Read full article >>

Israeli teen dies from attack on gay pride parade

JERUSALEM ? An Israeli teenager who was stabbed by a Jewish extremist at a gay pride parade last week succumbed to her wounds Sunday, just hours after thousands of Israelis held anti-violence rallies across the country protesting attacks by Israeli assailants against gays and Palestinians.Read full article >>

The Fix: The two indisputable and seemingly contradictory realities of Hillary Clinton?s presidential campaign

The renewed talk of a possible presidential run by Vice President Biden in 2016 reveals two political facts about Hillary Clinton's candidacy ? facts that underline the dueling realities of her 2016 political campaign.Read full article >>

Ranking the 10 men most likely to win the 2016 Republican nomination

The obvious problem when trying to rank the 10 people most likely to wind up as the Republican presidential nominee next year can be summed up in two words: Donald Trump.On one hand, Trump is ahead in most national polls on the nominating contest ? an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll out Sunday puts him at 19 percent, four points clear of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ? and he even leads (or comes close to leading) in surveys conducted in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.Read full article >>

Iran plans to buy 80-90 Boeing, Airbus planes a year, post sanctions

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran plans to buy as many as 90 planes per year from Boeing and Airbus to revamp its antiquated fleet once Western sanctions are lifted, its state news agency IRNA quoted a senior aviation official as saying on Sunday.

Verizon's workers say no strike for now, union talks continue

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc and the unions representing its wireline unit employees on the U.S. East Coast said work will go on and talks continue after their current contract expired.

Greece may seek up to 24 billion euros in first new aid tranche: paper

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece may seek 24 billion euros in a first tranche of bailout aid from international lenders in August to prop up its banks and repay debts falling due at the ECB, a pro-government Greek newspaper said in its early Sunday editions.

Pacific Rim free trade talks fall short of deal

LAHAINA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Pacific Rim trade ministers failed to clinch a deal on Friday to free up trade between a dozen nations after a dispute flared up over auto trade between Japan and North America, New Zealand dug in over dairy trade and no agreement was reached on monopoly periods for next-generation drugs.

Puerto Rico will fail to make Aug.1 payment, signaling default

(Reuters) - Puerto Rico will miss a payment on debt due Aug. 1, the governor's chief of staff said on Friday, an event that will be considered a default by investors as the commonwealth lurches towards what could be one of the largest U.S. municipal debt restructurings in history.

Tumbling oil prices slam profit at Exxon Mobil, Chevron

(Reuters) - Weak oil prices shriveled quarterly profit at Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp on Friday, compelling both companies to rethink operations and plan for what many expect to be a sustained period of cheap crude.

Desert Storm, the Last Classic War

The Saturday Essay: Twenty-five years after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Gulf War still stands out as a triumph of U.S. foreign policy. Its lessons remain urgent, even in the chaos of today?s much altered Middle East.

Angels LHP Wilson eyes season-ending surgery

Assange slams WikiLeaks film in letter to actor Benedict Cumberbatch

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange penned an open letter to British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who portrays Assange in an upcoming film, praising the actor's talents but slamming his involvement with the film and turning down the actor's invitation to meet in person. Assange, who is currently holed up at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, wrote a letter to Cumberbatch dated January 15, 2013, that was published on Wednesday on the anti-secrecy website ahead of the October 18 theatrical release of Walt Disney Co's DreamWorks film "The Fifth Estate. ...

'Captain Phillips' star Abdi finds a risk worth taking in debut

By Eric Kelsey BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Barkhad Abdi, a tall wisp of a man with a narrow face and a wide grin, sat on the sofa in his hotel suite with one eye on the television and another on a view of the Hollywood Hills. The 28-year-old Somali-American, who had worked the past year at his brother's mobile phone store in Minneapolis, could hardly have called himself an actor when he began production in British director Paul Greengrass' thriller "Captain Phillips. ...

France bows to stage director Patrice Chereau, dead at 68

By Tom Heneghan PARIS (Reuters) - The French theatre, opera and film director Patrice Chereau, who mounted one of the most famous productions of Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle in Bayreuth in the 1970s, has died at the age of 68. Chereau, who was preparing a production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It" when he succumbed to lung cancer, was a restless innovator who began directing at high school in Paris and never looked back. ...

Scarlett Johansson again named 'sexiest woman alive' by Esquire

(Reuters) - American actress Scarlett Johansson has been named the sexiest woman alive for the second time by Esquire, the men's lifestyle magazine said on Monday. "The Avengers" star was named sexiest woman in 2006 and is the only woman to have been given the title twice by the publication. The annual recipient of the title is chosen by Esquire editors. Husky-voiced Johansson, who rose to prominence as a teenager in the 2001 cult film "Ghost World," stars in three films this fall. ...

Britain's 'kitchen sink' cinema finds dark new twist

By Patrick Graham LONDON (Reuters) - British director Paul Wright's new film "For Those in Peril" pans across a dour Scottish coastal town where madness, tragedy and a feared sea monster lurk close beneath the surface. It's a dark tale, typical of a new generation of filmmakers like this year's Oscar hopeful Steve McQueen, who are taking Britain's tradition of gritty "kitchen sink" cinema in a stark and sometimes strange direction. ...

Lebanon bans two films in setback for tolerant image

By Stephen Kalin BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon has banned the screening of a film about homosexuality and another on short-term "pleasure marriages" practiced in some Muslim communities, in a blow to its reputation as a bastion of tolerance in a deeply conservative region. The films, which had been due to be shown at the Beirut International Film Festival that opened last week, were blocked by a government censorship committee, festival organizers said. ...

First Read: The day in politics

China investigating liquor suppliers for Viagra in alcohol

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police are investigating if two distillers in the southwestern region of Guangxi added impotence treatment drug Viagra to their liquor in the latest food-safety scare in China.

Wild turkey sparks hunt for angry bird at University of Michigan

DETROIT (Reuters) - A wild turkey is ruffling feathers at the University of Michigan, chasing pedestrians and cyclists, sneaking into dorms and even causing traffic delays by lying down in the middle of streets.

Stowaway cat 'Lucky' to be alive in sunken boat

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A brown and black shorthair cat now named "Lucky" is one fortunate feline after managing to survive while trapped under water for at least an hour inside a sunken powerboat in Arizona.

Ohio man must spend two days in jail for petting zoo cougars

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio man who posted a video of himself petting cougars at a Columbus zoo appealed no contest to a trespassing charge on Wednesday and has to spend two days in jail and pay more than $200 in fines, court documents said.

Fugitive-turned-actor arrested after U.S. Marshals read film write-up

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A fugitive bank-robber-turned-actor has been arrested in Washington state after U.S. agents spotted his picture in a newspaper article about a low-budget horror film in which he plays an evil doctor, an official said on Monday.